>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. detroit is bankrupt. a judge made it official today. current bills will be paid but pensions are due to be cut. a new look at the death of yasser arafat. experts say the palestinian leader was not poisoned. and the moment that divers found a shipwreck survivor right after the tugboat sank. it is, indeed, a momentous day. that is how a federal judge ended the hearing announcing

that detroit is available t bece a bankrupt city. it is $18 billion in debt but not without potentially hurting pensioners. we're in detroit, diane, the big question now is moving forward how long does this whole process take? >> we're likely to see a reorganization plan in a month or so. but it is likely to be met with opposition from current municipal employees. >> reporter: the judge gave detroit state appointed emergency manager to file bankruptcy. outside the courts were protesters.

>> services, pensions will be on the chopping block, our art institutes the water. >> it may be the only way to breathe new life into detroit given it's $18 billion debt crumbling infrastructure, and high crime rate. in his ruling the judge said, quote, this once proud city cannot pay its debts. at the same time it has an opportunity for a fresh start. i hope that everybody associated with the city will recognize that opportunity. unquote. in a controversial decision rhodes said retiree pensions could be on the chopping block. they're treated like any other contract. they will press their pace as they draw up the bankruptcy plan of adjustment. >> when you're an institutional creditor, you make decisions. but when you work for your

entire life and retire and then somebody says sorry didn't mean it, that's a very different situation. >> reporter: he told reports he's willing oh to work with the unions. >> we're trying to be very thoughtful, measuredish, and humane about what we have to do. what i can tell them is that the reality is there is not enough money to address the situation no matter what we do. >> reporter: and by midday today he had already appealed the judge's decision. >> diane estherbrook in detroit. with us in san francisco is michael sweet, a bankruptcy attorney, thank you for your time. >> my pleasure, tony. >> yeah, a pleasure to have you on the program. the pensions are not protected by state constitutions. that's a position that the unions had argued, as you know.

is that part of the ruling surprising to you? >> it's surprising me that it went that far. all judge rhodes needed to do was go through the check list of items that you need to hit for bankruptcy. are they an municipality? are think insolvent? and that's all he needed to do. he got into a discussion about whether pensions can be impaired. whether pension payments can be reduced in bankruptcy. he said that he believes that they can. that's a significant statement to come from the judge because we've never seen that before in a chapter 9 case. no one has ever used chapter 9 in the history of the code to repair or reduce pension payments to pensioners. >> wow, there isn't history on this according to what you just said here. so when we get to this question of what is likely in terms of reductions for pensioners, are

all bets off here? >> well look, you heard what kevin orr said in that lead-in piece. i wouldn't say all bets are off. these are human beings. but the fact of the matter, detroit has huge legacy payments, $18 billion in debt and a significant amount of that is going to retirees. because of the loss of population and drop of revenue they just can't make ends meet. are all bets off? i wouldn't go that far but people are going to see reductions. i think there would be reductions across the board. there has to be. and it remains to be seen how far the city is going to go or what they're going push for. the judge made it clear-- >> explain this to me. you can't get draconian with the cuts, but when rhode islands pensioners saw their pensions cut by 55%. in california they opted to keep pension payments, but they gave

up health insurance. so a couple of ways that you can cut this and slice this. what do you think of pension cuts clearly on the table in the detroit case, what are we talking here? 50%? less? more? >> look, you look at different people differently. you've got people who are retired from the city who has worked for the city for 10, 20 years. you have people whose pension from the city is all they have. you have people who have pension accruing and they're in a different boat all together. i guess one way to look at it would be do they take more away from the people who have more time to adjustment themselves and live with the reality than you do from people who--they've been retired for a long time and this is all they have. hopefully the people doing this do it with an eye towards equity, fairness and different situations that people are in and figure out the best way to

make the cut the city needs to make going forward doing as little damage as possible to people's lives. there will be pain inflicted. this is not easy to do to people. >> this is about cuts, austeri austerity, and paulin falling population rates, lack of revenues, how does this allow the city to rebuild? >> so at the beginning of the case when you file bankruptcy it stays, stops all the litigation efforts of all the people you owe money to. detroit owes $18 billion to over a thousand creditors. if it were fighting these collection lawsuit in state court they couldn't get anything done. the bankruptcy says that no one can try to collect money from detroit, and detroit will work

out a plan to pay everyone something, less than they would be paid if they were getting paid in full, but something, and we'll try to share the pain across the board. what we're in now, we're at the beginning of the stage where kevin orr and his team will put in front of the court a plan a proposal to adjustment the debt and reduce the payments. the court will look at it, and while all this mediation is taking place with the bargaining unites, creditors, and they're trying to reach an agreement on the side, carry that in together, and hopefully this will be connecticut essential you'llly. >> michael sweet, a bankruptcy attorney and partner of potts roth child llc. thank you. french investigators concluded that yasser arafat died of natural causes. this contradicts swiss

conclusion there is he had a high level of radioactive polonium. >> some palestinians suspected foul play. now this new report from france raises new questions. >> reporter: in death as in life yasser arafat remains a lightening rod for controversy. nine years after his burial forensic experts in france concluded the leader of the palestinian authority was not the victim of polonium poisoning, contradicting findings released just last month from swiss scientists. the swiss findings report that his death was caused by polonium-210. french science tests found polonium found in the natural origin and did not cause the death.

his widow reacts to conflicting reports. >> you can imagine to what extent i'm upset by these contradictions regarding the best european experts on the matt. what should one think. >> reporter: an document first reported that swiss scientists found high levels of polonium in blood and urine samples. arafat's widow, a french citizen, asked for a an inquiry eight years after his death. 60 tissue samples were collected and distributed to france, switzerland and russia. swiss scientists concluded that he was poisoned. >> they are characteristic of him having a dose of polonium just before he died. so those levels are about 36 times what you would expect in a normal person.

>> reporter: according to palestinian officials russian scientists reported the amount of polonium in arafat's samples were inconclusive. france reports it could have come from naturally occurring gasses surrounding the too many. >> french officials say they'll continue their investigation. mean swiss scientists stand by their findings of probability of 1 to 6 they rate the likelihood of poisoning at level 5. >> appreciate it. >> thank you. >> it was an investigation by al jazeera's clayton swisher that prompted yasser arafat's widow to request her husband's body be exhumed to be tested. i spoke with swish behavior today's developments. >> reporter: well, it's turning out to be a scientific food fight here in the capitol. we were told just a short while ago, the swiss remain the only game in town. they're hoping the french court will allow them to approach the bench and present their findings

along side the french ones because there is a key discrepancy. the french found high levels of polonium but they say that's happening because of the presence of raydon gas. raydo no, depletes into polonium. the swiss said they measured raydon gas and said it could not have caused those very high levels of polonium. now the attorneys of mrs. arafat are looking at all those in involved. it's going to become a he said, she said, and only the judges here in france will make that determination. >> why such a huge discrepancy between the french and the swiss findings, and not to mention even the russian conclusion at this point? >> well, it's hard to say. where i'm standing in france in

the entire country you cannot by law make public these results. mrs. arafat has given some indications of what the report has said as has an expert who was invited to view the results but there is no way to publish them and have a transparent debate. but we're going off non-experts talking about it. we do know polonium was found, but they're saying raydon gas caused it. and swiss are saying that the poisoning by polonium caused this. >> new details on the deadly trail derailment in new york city. the brake systems were working properly, but the crash may have been caused by human error. i want you to pick up on these lines. we're hearing reports that a nine official said the engineer found himself nodding off before the accident. >> that's what the associated

press is reporting and there have been other published reports that said he zoned out a bit before the accident. the ntsb was asked about this. they said they were in the midst of engineering the enginee engine--interviewing the engineer and could not confirm those reports. but he was on the second day of a nine-day--five day shift, a routine five-day shift. here's ntsb board member. >> i don't know the specific time he finished the shift, but the day was a typical nine-hour day. and these days were routine days. >> he would have had sufficient time to get a full night sleep. >> with every indication he would have had time to get full restorative sleep. >> the question is did he get that full night sleep before he showed up for work at 5:00 a.m. on sunday. the ntsb will look very carefully at the 72 hours before

this accident to see what william rockefeller was doing. and it's too far to blame it on human error but they have found no problems, no problems at all with the brakes. >> that's where we are at this point. lisa, transportation experts have talked about technology that may, and we underline that, may have prevented the crash. what can you tell bus that? >> reporter: it's called positive train control, and it essentially takes over the train if the engineer fails to brake or slow down when he should. the ntsb says they have been pushing for this for decades, and they went so far as to saying it could have prevented this crash if it was on this train. it's mandated it's a few years away. >> lisa, thank you. it's political crisis that has changen thailand's capitol for a week. prime minister yingluck shinawatra ordered police to stop battling with

anti-government protesters. the majority of the protesters are middle and upper class residents of bangkok who have been fighting with people from poor and rural areas who support the prime minister. now the protesters have accused the prime minister of being a proxy for her brother, former prime minister who was ousted in a coup in 2006. they accuse her government of being corrupt. we have more. >> reporter: it was expected to be another violent day in this part of the thai capitol of bangkok. riot police prepare once again to trade tear gas and rocks outside of the headquarters of the metropolitan police. instead they work together to pull away barriers that keep them apart. a truce had been called ahead of king's birthday on thursday. around the corner there was a similar scene. after two days of trying to force their way into the

headquarters of prime minister yingluck shinawatra, they were turned back and those trying to push for political change were able to enter the grounds unopposed. >> this is another significant development in thailand's volatile political landscape. they are now ain't government protesters are about to storm in. >> they were told by their leaders not to enter the building itself which was guarded by soldiers. instead they enjoyed a brief stay on the manicured lawn in clearly what was a choreographed moment. after an hour they left and locked the gate behind them. >> this government has no right to run the country. that's why the thai people came to show their power. it's a symbol that we own the country. >> but their goal of removing the government has not been reached. the prime minister is still in charge. she spent part of the day at a

rehearsal for the king's celebrations where she talked to the head of the army. they have been involved in talks between the opposing sides in recent days. it seems the protesters won't back long for long. anti-government leader took the stage and claimed a partial victory and repeated his well well-worn line that the government must go. at the end of the a confusing day cleaners moved into the area around the prime minister's office. but the protesters are still on the streets and the government is still in power meaning people here are no closer to a clear outcome. al jazeera, bangkok. >> meteorologist: well, it is the week after thanksgiving. you can see the region we're mostly talking about with snow.

minnesota, wisconsin, you can see the snow building in right here. there is a little bit of a break but more snow is on the way. temperatures right now are getting very cold. bismarck is at 13 degrees. rapid city is at 14. there is a lot of windy conditions across the region. this is making it feel much colder than it is. rapid city right now feels like minus 10. if you're traveling on any of these highways you definitely want warmer close in your car. if you break down on these roads it's going to feel and be very dangerous for you to get out there and change that tire. now we have a lot of warnings in place. winter storm warnings all across the board for the northern tier states because we're going to be getting a lot of snow as well. now tomorrow the snow starts to move a little bit more towards the great lakes. in this region up here, northern minnesota and wisconsin, we're talking about anywhere up to a foot of snow in that region as well as in colorado, eight

inches of snow for you. >> wow, thanks. brace yourself. test scores american kids are not doing any better than a decade ago. but the rest of the world is pulling ahead. breaking down the numbers coming up. also the price of cheap leather. we'll take a look at the toxic chemicals spilling into one nation's water supply. is

the curve. there are no published reports this morning including from wabc, those reports indicate that the engineer, william rockefeller has said he may have is you

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. two new test scores show that american students are not making the grade. they compare scores to their peers. >> reporter: it shows yet again tests that american students are taking, they lag compared to their international peers. the program tested 15-year-olds around the countries. the united states falls at the middle of the pact, but it did not even crack the top 20.

only 8% of american teams scored in the top two levels. math. chair that to shanghai where nearly half of the students tested they aced the exam. san francisco, japan, united kingdom, estonia, slovenia, latvia all did better than u.s. students. after 12 years of these tests the united states has not really improved it's scores much. the education secretary tony called it the picture of stagnation. >> there is a lot of work that needs to be done. >> but to make you feel better these tests aren't that criminal, but the bigger thing to learn is critical thinking. >> higher order thinking. we were just talking about it. >> we were just talking about it. >> it links to reading, comprehension, and hang on to the music, and it links to

matthew. >> that's why some advocates say don't freak out about these kinds of tests and comparison because a lot of it based on memorization and the most important is critical thinking. >> thank you. now. >> you've been hearing that detroit has become the largest municipality to file bankruptcy. david, remember us again, how serious are detroit's financial problems? >> it's very serious. it's serious to the point of all the money that the city of detroit takes in to their tax receipts and revenue, $0.40 on the dollar has to go as far as dealing with the debt that detroit has accumulated. if they did nothing that proportion would go up to $0.65 on the dollar. that is money that could not be

spent on garbage collection, firefighting, and police. it's eating up a huge portion of the money that detroit wants to spend to rebuild the city. >> how could--what we are seeing and have seen in detroit, ripple out elsewhere? >> it could have an effect because there are cities that are considering a bankruptcy type of format because they are also in the red. if detroit is able to do this by cutting back on pensions that workers were promised or taking it to the unions you might see some other cities follow suit and say it worked for motown. perhaps the city of chicago, we'll talk to somebody on our show on that city. a lot of people are watching this very closely as a way to cut back on pension obligations. some are heading to federal court. >> what else are you working on? >> we have a great show. i know when you were at turner

broadcasting several years ago there was that no smoking policy. well, that policy is embraced with more companies on the front end. in other words, they will not hire you if you test positive for tobacco use. this policy is spreading. we'll talk about the pros and cons. this has just fired up people all over social media. that is coming up at 7:00 eastern on a "real money." >> david shuster. >> so we're just months away from the world cup in brazil, but there are safety concerns there. we have preview of the sports. >> reporter: yeah a lot of people worried that the games will have serious problems well at least stadiums are being constructed will not be ready for the fifa end of december deadline. the venues would not be completed due to construction

delays, and raising concerns that the event will be plagued with several logistical problems. 1 million tickets have already been sold for the 2014 world c cup. signing mccann to a contract calling it a significant improvement to a key position. with 20 home runs and 102 games for atlanta when he missed the first month following offseason surgery on his right shoulder. in the nfl not only did the seattle seahawks be the first to punch his ticket over the saint, but the fans set the record for the loudest crowd noise. they also caused a slight earthquake. with the noise and foot stomping at one moment in the game it registered an one or two earthquake on the richter scale in seattle. that's how loud it is at quest field. phenomenal environment that they're causing earthquakes.

>> and someone might have to go through that city, that stadium. >> every team will have to go through. they have the number one team. >> forget about it. shut that down. michael yves, thank you. and coming up here on al jazeera america. the troubled government healthcare site has given the obama administration lots of bad press. now the president is focusing on the rest of the affordable care act. we have the latest from the white house. also amazing the man who spent three days trapped i in a sunken ship 100 feet below the ocean next. tñ

>> we have breaking. the pentagon has temporarily stopped using a route to send cargo into afghanistan. officials saying there are other routes to more cargo into and out of afghanistan. detroit is bankrupt. a judge cleared the way today for what is now the largest municipal bankruptcy in u.s.

history. the city is $18 billion in debt. it could mean severe cuts for retired city workers who relied on pensions. french scientists have thrown a new twist in the yasser arafat story. forensic team reported that the palestinian leader did not die from radioactive poisoning. the report contra-ducts an earlier report from a swiss team, who claims that it was due to a political assassination. the engineer involved in the new york train derailment found himself nodding before the train jumped the tracks. alcohol tests came back negative. drug tests are still spending. and the train's brakes were working properly. president obama with a new push to sell his healthcare law

from the white house. president obama is launching a 20-day campaign to win back critical support. mike viqueira joins us from the white house. mike, it has been--we have documented almost every day of the two months and the difficulty in the roll out. what would you say the president is trying to accomplish for today's event? >> there were a couple of things. number one, two weeks ago the president was abject in his apology, contrite about all of the in snafus and however you t to name it, all the problems, and the two months that was really lost. he said listen we've got most of this worked out. the vast majority of people who logged on are going to have a successful experience. let's turn the page. because over the course of the next three weeks if you're going to get insurance through the website, and you want to be insured by january 1st.

the kick off date for obamacare then you got to get on the stick. he wanted to reassure americans that the healthcare law was working and reassure democrats his core supporters. part of this was a political rally that these problems are very nervous about how this is all going to shake out. the president didn't break any news. he didn't have any announcements but it's time to turn the page, turn the corner on all the problems over the past two months. let's listen. >> so, we just need people, now that we have the technology fixed we need you to go back, take a look at what is actually going on because it can make a difference in your lives and the lives of your families. >> a contrast that the president and the administration pointing out, you know from the outset when the healthcare launched six people were signed up, a well-known infamous figure at

this point, a million people, the first full day where they have these glitches worked out, more than glitches, obviously, but a million people were successful in logging on to the website. >> mike viqueira at the white house for us. talking to al jazeera about the historic deal that iran sign sign. the five permanent security members plus germany known as the p5+1 would relief cripple, sanctions. we sat down with their foreign minister. >> we do not believe nuclear weapons will increase our security. we believe the perception that iran is seeking nuclear weapons is a detriment to our security. we're against nuclear weapons

based on religious doctrine, strategic and it has no place in our defense doctrine. i believe all of us in this region need to unite against a nuclear program that has been a threat to this region. we have all shared this view since 1974, that we need to establish a region free from all weapons of mass destruction in the middle east. now the only regime in the middle east that has both nuclear as well as chemical weapons and continues to divert international attention not only from the fact that it is a blatant violater of the npt and all international instruments on weapons of mass destruction, but also it's a violater of the most basic human rights of the palestinians, it tries to divert

attention from its inhumane policies. >> many people are wondering what is that which prompted iran to go for this deal? under former president ahmadinejad, they were not going to deal with the west. suddenly there is this break through. is it because the sanctions were biting deeply in the economy, or from a political perspective the architects of iran said you know what, we've been undermined for some time, and we'll show the world that we're genuine about starting a new chapter? >> well, you see in iran we have political elections. popular elections. they chose ahmadinejad eight years ago.

they close a different path this election. this is an opportunity for us and for the west in order to dress this issue. we're not talking about sanctions. the affect of sanctions has been two-fold. when sanctions started you iran had less than 2,000 centerfuges. now iran has 18,000 centerfuges. the sanctions have utterly failed in that regard. now it seems to me that the west is trying to take advantage of this historic opportunity. we have a new government in iran with a different type of foreign policy, a different approach of foreign policy. our tenant versus nos have not . he will insist on our rights. we will not compromise on the basic rights of our people. but the window of opportunity is a limited window.

>> that was with iran's foreign minister. alan gross was in north korea working on an internet project fo--incuba working on a. government. he was detained. libby casey has his story. >> alan gross' wife judy describes him as a man who wanted to help the world. >> he was very gregarious, very happy person, great personality, very, very warm. unfortunately, that's changed quite a bit in the past four years. people don't recognize him when they see pictures of him. >> decades of humanitarian work across the globe led the

60-year-old to cuba, the goal, setting up internet access for cuba's small jewish communities. now he languished in a jail cell. he has lost weight, his help, he feels like he has been forgotten and left to die. >> what could be worse than thinking your government isn't doing anything to bring you home. >> reporter: supporters of alan gross gathered near the white house to draw attention to his situation and to call on president obama to get personally involved. they believe that could make all the difference. >> judy read a letter from her husband to the president pleading for his help. while administration officials have expressed sympathy and call for his unconditional release it has not been enough. white house spokesman jay carney said mr. obama is involved. >> the president has himself personally engaged foreign leaders and other international figures to lose their influence with cuba to promote mr. growth's release growth

gross' release. they have made clear the importance the united states places on his welfare. >> reporter: judy gross fears a cold war mentality keeps negotiations between countries that haven't had relationship in several years. alan gross deserves to come home but that the u.s. government is not offering any deals to cuba. >> at no point has the u.s. government given unilateral concession tots castro regime or to ease sanctions as a means to secure mr. gross' release. >> it's unclear what cuba would even bargain for. but the gross family said there is only one way to find out, that's by talking. libby casey, al jazeera america. >> the leather industry is big business in bangladesh and the

leather tanneries is one of the most toxic places to work in dhaka. >> reporter: blood red and loaded with toxic chemicals, tainted water gushes from one of the tanneries from the dhaka's tannery industry. they are full of wastes full of cancer-causing chemicals. the water drains untreated straight in the streams and open suers of this densely populated neighborhood home to 160,000 people. streets and alleys are piled high with cast off leather trimmings, bones and rotting animal parts. >> if you want to know how hell looks like, you don't really wait to go to the hell. if you come to the tannery and have a look at the tannery area, that will perhaps tell you what hell looks like. >> 22,000 cubic meters of environmentally hazardous liquid

waste is emitted every day. it flows in dhaka's main water way. it is a dead zone. fish and other aquatic life simply can't exist there any longer. >> the conditions here are so bad that a new report just put our by an influential group by european and american watchdog organizations hold this area one of the five most polluted places on the planet. >> leather is one of bangladesh most valuable export commodities. they found no attempt by authorities to crackdown on polluting tanneries. it calls it an enforcement-free zone. >> i haven't heard of a single case where the department of environment has been regular in visiting the tannery area. this is because the government wants only to buy the argument

of arming foreign egg export. this is a case of total absence government. >> having lived here for 50 years. >> the government doesn't understand. we wouldn't be living in this filth. >> he blames toxic waste for his daughter's death from glance i tried to save her but i couldn't do anything. it's because of this place. >> reporter: no in-depth health studies have been done on the people living here. but they don't need reports or statistics to tell them they're living on poisoned land. al jazeera, dhaka. >> i got to tel to tell you thet report is amazing. it's video of a rescue of a nigerian cook who was trapped when a tugboat he was on flipped over and sank. take a look. >> divers discovered the man while collectin collecting the f

the men who went down on the tugboat. he had been trapped underwater in an air pocket for three days. the body had been pulling a oil tanker through the delta when it flipped. the rescue that happened just six months ago was released today. breaking news. men and women think differently, and now researchers say they figured out why. we'll explain coming up. this is the 900-page document we call obamacare. it could change costs, coverage, and pretty much all of healthcare in america. my show sorts this all out. in fact, my staff has read the entire thing. which is probably more than what most members of congress can claim. we'll separate politics from policy, and just prescribe the facts.

>> the united nations is marking the day as international day for persons with disabilities, around 5% of the population live

with some form of disability. the government estimates 19% of people have one. many of them are children. some schools are using technology to help kids learn even if they can't see, hear, or speak. al jazeera has visited one of those schools that specializes in educating kids with severe disabilities. >> students come to the school from all over new york. some like chris, in an ambulance. the 16-year-old has a disability that limits his growth and am ability and requires constant medical care. now he's on his way to earning a high school diploma. >> there are no limits. >> this is in large part thanks to technology like this. it's helping 180 students with severe disabilities here who might otherwise not be able to study. >> do you remember how to do

that? >> no. >> 20-year-old chelsea can't speak through her mouth but this tool let's her communicate by moving her eyes. >> the most basic thing was now using eye gaze. when you don't have movement at all. you have access to technology. >> around 8% of children underage 15 in the u.s. are considered disabled. around half of them are severely disabled. under federal law all children with disabilities up to age 21 have a right to a free education in an environment that meets their needs. new york state pays $77 for >> this student is using a dyna box to answer.

it helps students for life beyond these walls. >> reporter: but some experts question whether segregated schools like this can get students ready for the real world. >> schools prepare students to live in an adult world. you have to be interacting with people who don't have disabilities. >> the only one of a set of triplets living away from home. >> it would have been much more difficult to adopt. >> he sees this as a path to college. >> i want to study biology. >> he has the power, he says, like everyone else, to reach for his dreams. >> that should give a lift

today. men and women's brains apparently really are wired differently. that's what a new study shows. and we have this report, what did you find? what is the report say to go us? >> neurologists at the university of pennsylvania wanted to know how the neuropathways in male and female brains worked. the studies show women had more communications going on between both hemispheres of the brain. ithe left side connected more frequently with the right side which may explain why women are better at multi tasking. now male had more connectivity from the front side and the backside of the brain. that's why more men are more action oriented.

they see and they act. it does not mean that one function is superior to the other. it doesn't mine that men or better than women. >> i just want to come where the knuckle head portion of the male brain comes from. >> reporter: it's right in the middle. >> thank you, wow. let's get you caught up on the day in sports. here's the man, michael yves. >> reporter: hot stove season. besides the race for the world series one of the prevalent stories between the 2013 major league baseball season, robinson cano. rumors had him to sign a contract around $300 million. that would be the biggest number in history, expected to sign the most lucrative deal in this offseason. the only question remains which team will give it to him. to sort out all these moves, baseball writer bob, always

appreciate the time. you know, the yankees seem the logical choice for can now considering his history and their bankroll. but the mariners may be willing to pay him over eight years. >> the mariners attendance has dropped down. they used to draw in crowds around 3 million. now they're in the low one's. they need to get people in the seats. they need to draw interest. they have plenty of money. i don't know how much it would take to get robinson cano to go all the way to seattle. he would be half a day flight from his home. >> it's one thing to go to the west coast if you're going to l.a. but the northwest corner that's not a huge media corner. but speaking of seattle again we tall carlos beltrán seemed a lock. but the mariners offered him

$48 million over three years? >> the mariners or kansas city royals have offered him three years at $48 million. same thing, get people in the seats. they're close to contending. they gave detroit tigers fits last year in the american league central. seat is trying to get people as well. they snead offense. seattle has become a real thorn for the yankees, and they were offering beltrán a two-year deal. >> reporter: a how much process, bob, went into the move to get rid o fielder. >> well fielder had a poor postseason. he said it wasn't going to bother him. it bothered the front office that they had to get him out of

there. they need a closer. they got joe nathan. eight seasons of over 36 games, and he should be the answer. they're not done. they still want to use that savings from prince fieldering to get an outfielder like ellsbury or chew. >> they saihow is this going tot the tigers offense to back up cabrera. >> i think he could hit an mvp with me or our behind him. he's that's great. he's a terrific hitter. it will hurt some but now they can move martinez in that spot. he had an outstanding second half. i think cabrera will be just fine. we'll see if he wins another mvp. but he's the best hit center all baseball. >> the yankees it call the sign of mccann nice an improvement over five years.

are the yankees expecting him to effect the line up more or the pitching staff? >> i think a little combination. it brings in a toughness, a little bit like joe girardi as a player. the pitchers love him and he'll catch four or five days a week. he can dh for a couple of days and he calls out opposing teams if they showboat around the bases. i think the yankee fans will absolutely love this guy. >> we have meetings coming up soon. big moves were made without pujols and hamilton going to the angels. are you expecting a huge out of nowhere move out of the meetings? >> i think we will see something. it's been so crazy the last few days. it's been non-stop action. and you know, i think beltrán will be signed before then. i think the cano thing will go down. i still think he'll sign with the yankees south of $200 million. and i think the yankees and the

tigers and texas rangers, they're not done. i can see them still doing big things here. >> bob, thank you very much here we'll talk to you soon. a lot of money out there. and somebody is going to get it. >> hopefully someone related to me. michael, thank you. we'll have the forecast in a moment and then david shuster in for ali velshi on real money? >> how do the bankruptcy in detroit affect other pensions in other states in the red. smoking could cost you your job. some companies now will not hire smokers. all that and more on "real money."

>> and now, a techknow minute...

>> earlier in the show he i showed you what was happening across the northern plains. let's show you what is going to happen tomorrow with the system. a lot of people are going to be affected. on wednesday the system moves towards the south. with this we're going to get very windy conditions back

behind the frontal boundary. the temperatures are coal. more cold air is coming in with the wind. feeling extremely cold. we're talking some places tomorrow we could be talking behinminus 20, minus 30 degreesh the wind chill. this could make its way towards east and thursday it will settle here just east of the great lakes all the way down through northern texas. still cold towards the north. chicago is going to have dropped. dayton will have dropped. cincinnati will have dropped. along the eastern seaboard we will feel above average for this time of year because we are still in that warmer air mass. one big problem the freezing rain across texas. that's going to be a problem on the highways. we'll keep you updated on how that changes. until then that's a look at your national weather. your headlines, tony, are up next.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with your top stories. detroit faces tough decisions after the federal judge accepted it's bankruptcy filings. the city is $18 billion in debt which will include cuts to pensions. the engineer in control of the train that derailed outside of new york city found himself nodding just before the accident. and at the white house many called on president obama to help free alan gross. he has been held in a